Overexposed

by Maroon 5

Overview

Maroon 5 settled into a cleanly contoured blue-eyed soul groove on 2010's Hands All Over and were rewarded with a clear commercial stumble -- a situation somewhat forgotten in light of Adam Levine's 2011 elevation to superstardom via his judgeship on The Voice. Levine didn't abandon his band once he became a TV star. Just as the first season finished, Maroon 5 recorded a duet with Christina Aguilera, "Moves Like Jagger," a single far more modern than anything on Hands All Over and, not surprisingly, a much bigger hit than anything from that 2010 LP. All this set the stage for 2012's Overexposed, its title a smirking allusion to Levine's ubiquity, its sound a reflection of how dearly the group wishes to retain the large audience they won once again with "Moves Like Jagger." Electronic rhythms easily overshadow acoustic rhythms, with even the natural swing playing as somewhat sequenced; each song gets a brittle, multipurpose surface, as easily adaptable for adult contemporary radio as it is for the club. Hooks stab with a steely confidence but they just break the skin; they prick instead of pierce. It's the productions that count, not the songs. What matters is the their cool, sleek sound, the glassiness of the ballads, the cold glint of the dance-pop that dominates this record. Maroon 5's soft swing as a band is pushed to the background -- a bonus closing cover of Prince's "Kiss" makes that shift apparent, as the band reworks it into a rockabilly shuffle worthy of Elvis' stage show -- and it's missed, but not greatly. Even if Levine's voice sounds a trifle thin in these cool, crisp settings, the band -- with the assistance of such guaranteed hitmakers as Max Martin, Shellback, and Ryan Tedder; Levine's usual co-writer and lead guitarist James Valentine only has four credits here -- is adept at navigating modern pop waters, creating a record that feels briskly contemporary. They've bent with the times instead of attempting to have the fashion follow them, which may be a wise move after the general disregard paid to Hands All Over -- Overexposed may not hold together as well as that album, but it's sure to keep the audience won over by The Voice. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/26/2012
Label:	A&M / Interscope / Octone Records
UPC:	0602537083855

Tracks

1. One More Night
2. Payphone
3. Daylight
4. Lucky Strike
5. The Man Who Never Lied
6. Love Somebody
7. Ladykiller
8. Fortune Teller
9. Sad
10. Tickets
11. Doin' Dirt
12. Beautiful Goodbye
13. Wipe Your Eyes
14. Wasted Years
15. Let's Stay Together

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Maroon 5   Primary Artist
Wiz Khalifa   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Christina Aguilera   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
MdL   Keyboards
Dan Omelio   Guitar,Keyboards
Ammar Malik   Guitar,Vocals
Savannah Buffet   Vocals
Cillie Barnes   Vocals (Background)
PJ Morton   Keyboards
Benny Blanco   Keyboards
Sweetwesty   Guitar
Alex Greenwald   Keyboards
Shellback   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Sam Spiegel   Keyboards
Nathaniel Walcott   Keyboards
Noah Passovoy   Keyboards
Vanessa Long   Vocals (Background)
Bobby Keys   Saxophone
Dan Keyes   Vocals (Background)
Matt Flynn   Drums,Percussion
Ryan Tedder   Keyboards
Z Berg   Vocals (Background)
Jesse Carmichael   Guitar,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Sam Farrar   Keyboards
Brian West   Guitar
Max Martin   Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Noel Zancanella   Keyboards
Mickey Madden   Bass,Vocals,Guitar (Bass)
J.R. Rotem   Keyboards
Brie Larson   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
James Valentine   Sitar,Guitar,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Adam Levine   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

MdL   Producer,Programming
Dan Omelio   Composer
Jonathan Rotem   Composer,Producer
Ammar Malik   Composer
Supreme Cuts   Producer,Remixing,Remix Engineer
Chris Sclafani   Engineer
David Silberstein   Project Coordinator,Production Coordination
Scott "Yarmov" Yarmovsky   Assistant
DJ Kyriakides   Additional Production
Sam Holland Saklart   Assistant
Carleen Donovan   Publicity
Jonathan Mann   Engineer
Marius Moba   Composer
Matthew Rappold   Additional Production
Shawn Finch   Hair Stylist
Darcy Gilmore   Grooming
Sanjeet Singh Kang   Composer
Marc A. Moreau   Composer
Samm Levy   Composer
Shawn Kang   Producer,Additional Production
Karl Schuster   Composer
Daniel Thomas Omelio   Composer
Sam Martin   Composer
Noel Zancanella   Producer,Composer,Programming
Damon Albarn   Composer
Willie Mitchell   Composer
Benny Blanco   Engineer,Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Ross Golan   Composer
Sweetwesty   Programming,Additional Production
Eric Eylands   Assistant Engineer
Savan Kotecha   Composer
Shellback   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Terry Richardson   Photography
Benjamin Levin   Composer
Tom Coyne   Mastering
Richard Penniman   Composer
Ben Berkman   A&R
Sam Spiegel   Producer,Programming
Smith Carlson   Engineer
Nathaniel Motte   Composer
James Valentine   Composer,Composer,Producer,Programming
Jeremy "J Boogs" Levin   Project Coordinator,Production Coordination
Linda Carbone   Publicity
Noah Passovoy   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Additional Production
Robopop   Producer,Additional Production
Phil Seaford   Mixing Assistant
John Barrett   Assistant
Andrew Luftman   Assistant
Cameron Thomaz   Composer
Marius Moga   Composer
Richard Cutmore   Remixing,Programming,Additional Production
SAMM   Composer
Mason Levy   Composer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Bradford Smith   Engineer
John Hanes   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Ryan Tedder   Composer,Producer,Programming
Maroon 5   Producer
Sam Farrar   Producer,Programming,Additional Production
Brian West   Composer,Producer,Programming,Additional Production
Mariam Doumbia   Composer
Prince   Composer
Matt Goldman   Stylist
Max Martin   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Executive Producer
Mickey Madden   Composer
Al Jackson, Jr.   Composer
J.R. Rotem   Producer,Programming
Adam Levine   Composer,Producer
Al Green   Composer
Chris Bolster   Engineer